New Silverado Chevy Says One Thing Dealer Another?

[seamonster]

Looking at the new 1500. The dealer told me the "max trailering pkg" has a 3/4 ton suspension.

The springs look identical to the truck next to it.

I emailed chevy and they said all the 1500's even with max trailering pkg have the same spring

capacity.

I figured ok dealer is wrong--not that unusual but the Chevy color brochure lists a "high capacity"

rear springs with the max trailer pkg.

 

I want to pull a travel trailer so heavier springs would be great but do they have it?

 

I may go with a classic 1500hd otherwise, I know they have heavier springs.

[cerbomark]

i guess it s the tongue weight you are concerned with? The max, trailer package has a 10,400 lbs tow rating. I still would guess the 1500 with the max package still has lighter springs because the 2500 rides horrible unloaded compared to the 1500. And I m not knocking the 2500 but its meant to have some weight on it. My RPO codes are as follows, NHT, max trailer package/ z82,trailering pckage/ z85trailering suspension. It doesn t say what each on is specifically.

[hockeyfan39]

From the paper i have the max towing package increases your gvw from 7000, to 7200 and has a little stiffer springs. However i dont think there going to be as heavy duty as the 1500hd as it is a 2500light duty set up pretty much. And yes i'v drove a 1500 hd for a while and its great for what it is but it sure doesn't ride as nice as the 1500's old and definatly new.

[rogerf]

It sounds like your dealer may be confusing the basic 1500 suspension with what is included in the towing package (or just telling you what you want to hear to get a sale). One thing to consider, you can always add spring capacity if it's too soft for your needs. If buying a rig for towing, I would take the boxed frame of the NBS and taylor it to your needs over buying a Classic model.

[c4cruiser]

It sounds like your dealer may be confusing the basic 1500 suspension with what is included in the towing package (or just telling you what you want to hear to get a sale). One thing to consider, you can always add spring capacity if it's too soft for your needs. If buying a rig for towing, I would take the boxed frame of the NBS and taylor it to your needs over buying a Classic model.

 

The new style has the boxed frame and that will be a pluse for hauling or towing heavier weights. Just make sure you get the HD trailering package. I had read somewhere that the new style trucks also come with a fully integrated trailer brake controller so you don't need to buy anything else. Just hook up and go and no manual configuration of the controller is even needed; a computer does it all.

 

As far a max towing weight, if the hitch is (still) a Class III unit, you will have to use a weight distributing hitch setup to be able to tow that 10K weight. A Class III hitch is typically rated at 5000 to 6000lbs without the WDH depending on manufacturer.

[concours]

It sounds like your dealer may be confusing the basic 1500 suspension with what is included in the towing package (or just telling you what you want to hear to get a sale). One thing to consider, you can always add spring capacity if it's too soft for your needs. If buying a rig for towing, I would take the boxed frame of the NBS and taylor it to your needs over buying a Classic model.

 

The new style has the boxed frame and that will be a pluse for hauling or towing heavier weights. Just make sure you get the HD trailering package. I had read somewhere that the new style trucks also come with a fully integrated trailer brake controller so you don't need to buy anything else. Just hook up and go and no manual configuration of the controller is even needed; a computer does it all.

 

As far a max towing weight, if the hitch is (still) a Class III unit, you will have to use a weight distributing hitch setup to be able to tow that 10K weight. A Class III hitch is typically rated at 5000 to 6000lbs without the WDH depending on manufacturer.

 

 

 

Yup, I always hated it when my "C" channel frames would fail while towing a heavy load. I hear Mack will be changing over next year as well.

[rogerf]

The new style has the boxed frame and that will be a pluse for hauling or towing heavier weights. Just make sure you get the HD trailering package. I had read somewhere that the new style trucks also come with a fully integrated trailer brake controller so you don't need to buy anything else. Just hook up and go and no manual configuration of the controller is even needed; a computer does it all.

I don't recall seeing an integrated brake controller when ordering my '07 NBS. The order paperwork does show the "Max trailering" package gets a heavier front stabilizer bar than the Handling/Trailering/Z-71 package (36mm vs. 34mm). I did spec the Handling/Trailering/Z-71 package with a 5.3L so I should know shortly what all this includes. It was built on Wednesday and is in transit. The dealer expects to deliver it sometime this week.

 

The boxed frame is the reason I waited for this redesigned truck. I also looked at an F-150 which I really liked until it picked-up some strange road vibrations and then went into a wild shimmy/shake while on the test drive. Took that as a sign I should wait to see the new GM & Toyota offerings before buying anything. My '97 Chevy 1500 was used by the previous owner to pull a horse trailer. Can swear it has a mild twist in the frame as it has leaned slightly to the left and the steering has pulled slightly to the right since I owned it, but the allignment shop tells me everything is within spec.

[c4cruiser]

I read about the integrated brake controller on the Chevy truck web page but I may have been looking at the 2500HD truck with the Duramax/Allison drivetrain.